§ Mr. Spearingasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the United Kingdom's contributions to the EEC budget for each of the years 1973 and 1974 under each major heading, including VAT, customs duties, and levies, respectively, or the projection or range of estimates for the years 1975 to 1978.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettActual payments made by the United Kingdom to the Community budget to date, together with receipts, are:
£ million Gross contribution Receipts Net contribution 1973 181 77 104 1974* 179 145 34 * Provisional outturn. The forecasts for the years to 1979 published in the White Paper "Public Expenditure to 1978–79" Cmnd. 5879 are:
£ million (1974 Survey Prices) Gross contribution Receipts Net contribution 1975 280 180 100 1976 370 205 165 1977 450 230 220 1978 505 240 265 1979 550 240 310 The above figures for the United Kingdom's gross contribution are calculated by reference to the provisions of the Treaty of Accession whereby the United Kingdom's payments to the Community budget during the transitional period to 1979 are in effect limited by reference to a percentage share of the budget. The payments above are therefore not directly related to the totals of agricultural levies and customs duties collected in the 397W United Kingdom. VAT contributions will be made towards the Community budget only when there is agreement on a uniform VAT assessment basis.